Spawning Location and Distribution of Early Life Stages of Alewife and Blueback Herring in a Virginia Stream

O’Connell, Ann M.; Angermeier, Paul L.

doi:10.2307/1352251

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Blueback herring are generally more abundant than alewives in the southern Atlantic, primarily because North and South Carolina are the most southern part of the range for alewives (Berry 1964;Scott and Scott 1988). In the Rappahannock River, Virginia, blueback herring larvae were more abundant than alewife larvae (O'Connell and Angermeier 1997). In our study, however, although the mean CPUE for alewives was slightly higher, there were no significant differences in the abundance of the two species.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 82%

“…Our data show that the general spawning period for the two species is consistent with the spawning seasons reported (Walsh et al 2005;Binion 2011). Several studies have reported little evidence for the differential timing of spawning between the two species (Street et al 1975;O'Connell and Angermeier 1997;Walsh et al 2005), but some studies suggest that alewives spawn before blueback herring (Jones et al 1978;Loesch 1987). Our data do not support either spawning theme.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Instantaneous Growth, Mortality, and Recruitment of Larval River Herring in Tar–Pamlico River, North Carolina

Overton¹,

Jones²,

Rulifson³

2012

Mar Coast Fish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We estimated the variation in the instantaneous rates of growth and mortality between cohorts of larval alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis in the Tar-Pamlico River, Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. The age of larvae captured by push net was estimated by counting the daily rings on sagittal otoliths. Weight-at-age and abundance-at-age data were used to generate instantaneous daily growth (G) and mortality rates (M) for 7-d cohorts. The instantaneous daily growth rate was relatively constant between cohorts, ranging from 0.103 to 0.277 for alewives and from 0.105 to 0.200 for blueback herring. The instantaneous daily mortality rate was more variable between cohorts, ranging from 0.064 to 0.270 for alewives and from 0.100 to 0.251 for blueback herring. All but one blueback herring cohort had an M/G value exceeding 1.0, indicating that these cohorts were losing biomass during the early larval stage. For alewives, M/G values were more variable, with 50% of the cohorts having values less than 1.0. The effect of habitat was consistent between species, with M/G values being higher and closer to 1.0 at sites in tributary creeks and backwater areas of Tar River. The overall M/G values were 0.57 for alewives and 1.60 for blueback herring from both backwater and main-channel sites, indicating that the environmental conditions in the Tar-Pamlico River are more favorable for alewives.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Instantaneous Growth, Mortality, and Recruitment of Larval River Herring in Tar–Pamlico River, North Carolina

Overton¹,

Jones²,

Rulifson³

2012

Mar Coast Fish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Differences in the natural life histories of river herring species may explain the differences in captive spawning requirements. The temporal and spatial preferences for each vary throughout the spawning range (Chittenden 1972;Loesch 1987;O'Connell and Angermeier 1997;Walsh et al 2005). While both species have been found to spawn in lentic and lotic environments, in the Northeast where they are more sympatric they exhibit greater spatial segregation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although very similar in appearance, river herring species can be distinguished by morphological characteristics including eye diameter, body depth, and peritoneum color (Mullen et al 1986). The timing of their spawning migrations and preferred spawning habitats may also be species-specific but hybridization is not uncommon (Loesch 1987;O'Connell and Angermeier 1997;McBride et al 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spawning, Larviculture, and Salinity Tolerance of Alewives and Blueback Herring in Captivity

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Precipitous declines in wild populations of river herring species (Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis) have led to increased interest in stock enhancement efforts. Additionally, their popularity as a baitfish among recreational anglers has generated interest in commercial production of these species for marine baitfish markets. The objective of this investigation was to elucidate practical culture protocols for captive propagation of these species for commercial and restoration purposes. Wild Blueback Herring, captured during their annual spawning migration, spawned in tanks volitionally, while Alewives required exogenous hormone administration. Larvae of both species were successfully raised through metamorphosis using a feeding regime comprised of enriched rotifers followed by Artemia nauplii and a commercially available diet. Survival of early larvae acclimated to salinities ranging from 5‰ to 15‰ was high for both species (>94.0%) while that for older larvae acclimated to 15, 20, and 30‰ ranged from 64.7% to 95.3%. Juveniles raised at varying salinities (0–30‰) exhibited high survival (95.6–100.0%) and excellent feed conversion ratios (≤1.31) in all treatments. In acute salinity transfer experiments, high survival was observed when fish of both species (233–275 d posthatch) were transferred from low to high salinities, but low survival (10.0% and 3.3%) was observed in Alewives transferred from 15‰ or 30‰ to freshwater (0‰). A nodular fibrotic growth was found on 3.7% and 10.1% of the cultured Alewives and Blueback Herring (≥231 d posthatch), respectively, that likely followed tissue trauma and ulceration. The results of these studies provide a framework for river herring culture in recirculating systems.

show abstract

“…More-recent research has shown that American shad are affected by acid episodes (Leach and Houde 1999). O'Connell and Angermeier (1997) also observed that pH in Virginia tributaries to the Rappahannock River was at times below the lethal limit for blueback herring larvae present in streams, which supports the hypothesis that acid episodes are an agent of population declines. Considering (1) the hypothesized (and, in a few cases, demonstrated) negative effects of acid episodes on American shad and blueback herring, (2) that Pennsylvania's rainfall is among the most acidic in North America (Lynch et al 2002), and (3) that Pennsylvania streams are highly susceptible to acid episodes owing to predominance of siliciclastic geology (Sharpe et al 1987) and generally acidic soils (Ciolkosz et al 1989), the potential success of recolonization of these species in Pennsylvania streams may be entirely unrelated to the suitability of instream habitat measured at fine scales.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Landscapes and Habitat Suitability Scores for Diadromous Fish Restoration in the Susquehanna River Basin

Kočovský

Ross

Dropkin

et al. 2008

N American J Fish Manag

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dams within the Susquehanna River drainage, Pennsylvania, are potential barriers to migration of diadromous fishes, and many are under consideration for removal to facilitate fish passage. To provide useful input for prioritizing dam removal, we examined relations between landscape‐scale factors and habitat suitability indices (HSIs) for native diadromous species of the Susquehanna River. We used two different methods (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service method: Stier and Crance (1985), Ross et al. (1993a, 1993b, 1997), and Pardue (1983); Pennsylvania State University method: Carline et al. (1994)) to calculate HSIs for several life stages of American shad Alosa sapidissima, alewives Alosa pseudoharengus, and blueback herring Alosa aestivalis and a single HSI for American eels Anguilla rostrata based on habitat variables measured at transects spaced every 5 km on six major Susquehanna River tributaries. Using geographical information systems, we calculated land use and geologic variables upstream from each transect and associated those data with HSIs calculated at each transect. We then performed canonical correlation analysis to determine how HSIs were linked to geologic and land use factors. Canonical correlation analysis identified the proportion of watershed underlain by carbonate rock as a positive correlate of HSIs for all species and life stages except American eels and juvenile blueback herring. We hypothesize that potential mechanisms linking carbonate rock to habitat suitability include increased productivity and buffering capacity. No other consistent patterns of positive or negative correlation between landscape‐scale factors and HSIs were evident. This analysis will be useful for prioritizing removal of dams in the Susquehanna River drainage, because it provides a broad perspective on relationships between habitat suitability for diadromous fishes and easily measured landscape factors. This approach can be applied elsewhere to elucidate relationships between fine‐ and coarse‐scale variables and suitability of habitat for fishes.

show abstract

Spawning Location and Distribution of Early Life Stages of Alewife and Blueback Herring in a Virginia Stream

Cited by 12 publications

References 8 publications

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Instantaneous Growth, Mortality, and Recruitment of Larval River Herring in Tar–Pamlico River, North Carolina

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Instantaneous Growth, Mortality, and Recruitment of Larval River Herring in Tar–Pamlico River, North Carolina

Spawning, Larviculture, and Salinity Tolerance of Alewives and Blueback Herring in Captivity

Linking Landscapes and Habitat Suitability Scores for Diadromous Fish Restoration in the Susquehanna River Basin

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About